Lighthouse Source Materials

This section includes a list of primary and secondary sources used in creating the lighthouse exhibit and also partially reflects the holdings of the Clarke Library on the topic.

Books

Adamson, Hans Christian. Keepers of the Lights. New York, N.Y.: Greenberg, 1995.

Caesar, Pete. Let There be Light. Green Bay, WI: Ocean and Great Lakes Marine Press, 1984.

Caesar, Pete. Let There be Light II. Green Bay, WI: Ocean and Great Lakes Marine Press, 1993.

Caesar, Pete. Let There be Light III. Green Bay, WI: Ocean and Great Lakes Marine Press, 1997.

Clifford, Mary Louise. Women Who Kept the Lights: an illustrated history of female lighthouse keepers. Williamsburg, VA: Cyprus Communications, 1993.

Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association. Instructions to Light-keepers: a photo reproduction of the 1902 edition of instructions to light-keepers and masters of light-house vessels. Allen Park, MI: Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association, 1989.

Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association. Michigan Lighthouses. Berrien Center, MI: Penrod/Hiawatha Co., 1992.

Holden, Thomas. Above and Below: lighthouses and shipwrecks of Isle Royale. Houghton, MI: Isle Royale Natural History Association, 1985.

Holland, Francis Ross, Jr. America's Lighthouses: their illustrated history since 1716. Brattleboro, VT: Stephen Greene Press, 1972.

Hyde, Charles K. The Northern Lights: lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes. Lansing, MI: Two Peninsula Press, 1986.

Kozma, LuAnne Gaykowski. Living at a Lighthouse: oral histories from the Great Lakes. Detroit: Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association, 1987.

U.S. Treasury Dept., U.S. Coast Guard. Light List. Great Lakes, U.S. and Canada, Cleveland and Chicago Coast Guard districts. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1943.

Michigan. Governor, 1864-1868 (Henry H. Crapo). Joint resolution of the 38th Congress, 2d Session for the construction of lighthouses and fogbells on the island of Mackinaw at or near old Fort Mackinaw, on the straits of Michilimackinac. 1865.

Noble, Dennis L. Sentinels of the Rocks: from "Graveyard Coast" to National Lakeshore. Marquette, MI: Northern Michigan University Press, 1979.

Penrose, Laurie. A Traveler's Guide to Eastern Great Lakes Lighthouses. Davison, MI: Friede Publications, 1994.

Penrose, Laurie. A Traveler's Guide to 116 Michigan Lighthouses. Davison, MI: Friede Publications, 1992.

Penrose, Laurie. A Traveler's Guide to Western Great Lakes Lighthouses. Davison, MI: Friede Publications, 1995.

Seaway Trail. Lighthouses: an illustrated guide to the historic lighthouses along New York state's Great Lakes, Niagara and St. Lawrence Rivers. Oswego, NY: Seaway Trail, Inc., 1989.

Sellman, John J. Martin Reef: Lightship to Lighthouse. Cedarville, MI: Les Cheneaux Historical Association, 1995.

Splake, T. Kilgore. Superior Land Lights. Battle Creek, MI: Angst Productions, 1984.

U.S. Coast and geodetic survey: extracts from the report of the superintendent... Washington, DC: Gideon, 1851. U.S. Light-House Board. List of lights and fog signals of the U.S. on the northern lakes and rivers; and also of the lights and fog signals of the Dominion of Canada on those waters. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1893.

Wagner, John L. Michigan Lighthouses: an aerial photographic perspective. East Lansing, MI: John L. Wagner, 1994.

Wakefield, Ernest Henry. The Lighthouse That Wanted to Stay Lit. Evanston, IL: Honors Press Inc., 1992.

Calendars

  • Historical Society of Michigan. 1989 Great Lakes Lights Engagement Calendar. Ann Arbor, MI: Historical Society of Michigan, 1988.
  • Historical Society of Michigan. 1991 Great Lakes Lights Engagement Calendar. Ann Arbor, MI: Historical Society of Michigan, 1990.

Manuscript Collection

Copper Harbor Lighthouse station (keeper's) journal, 1872-1900.

Port Austin Reef Lighthouse journal, 1909-1917.

John T. and Fred R. Trelfa Collection, including photographs and manuscripts.

  • Photographs are related to the Old Presque Isle Lighthouse. Historical documents includes bids to build lighthouses, appointment papers of lighthouse keepers, and quarterly returns or reports of public property used at lighthouses for Bois Blanc; South Manitou Island; Chicago, IL; and Michigan City (1830-1804s). Also included is a (copy) schedule of lighthouses and beacons in the U.S. with number of lamps lit in each on the first day of 1/1833 for Maine; New Hampshire; Massachusetts; Rhode Island; Vermont; Connecticut; New York; Pennsylvania; Delaware; Maryland; Virginia; North Carolina; South Carolina; Georgia; Ohio; Louisiana; Florida; Michigan; Alabama; and Mississippi (U.S. Treasury Department).

Whitefish Point Lighthouse survey map, 1847 (copy). Signed by J.? H. Mullett, surveyor (6/15/1847), C. G. Hammond, collector of port and district of Detroit (6/21/1847), and Wm. L. Greenly, executive office, Detroit (6/26/1847).

 

Postcards

  • Palmer Park, Detroit
  • Grand Haven
  • Houghton
  • Petoskey
  • Presque Isle
  • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
  • Moonlight lighthouse scene on the canal, Sault Ste. Marie
  • Rock Harbor Lighthouse, Isle Royale
  • Mackinaw City
  • Old Mission Point Lighthouse, and Traverse Bay, Michigan.
  • Four lighthouses, Michigan's Thumb (area) of Lake Huron
  • Four Lighthouses, Ship Wreck Alley of Lake Superior.

Vertical Files

  • Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association
  • Dedication brochures of a historical marker (1965) for Presque Isle lighthouse.
  • Hermanson, Don. Isle Royale Lights. Houghton, MI: Keweenaw Video Productions, 1993.
  • Keweenaw Lights. Houghton, MI: Keweenaw Video Productions, 1992.

Related Topics

Related topics that may be found at the Clarke Historical Library include:

  • U.S. Life-Saving stations in the Great Lakes region
  • Ships and boats including a variety of types of crafts
  • U.S. Coast Guard; ship rescues
  • Shipwrecks
  • Underwater preserves
  • Lists of lighthouses
  • Ghost ship stories
  • Boating and shipping regulations and directions
  • Official reports of sunken ships, including the SS. Edmund Fitzgerald, sunk in Lake Superior, and the SS. Carl D. Bradley, sunk in Lake Michigan.